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Friday, June 23, 2017

How I found cheap flight promos via the Traveloka App

I dunno if it’s my broken toe (which has me stuck at home unless it’s necessary to go out) or my hangover from our summer vacations (which were super fun!) or my cheerful hope that by some miracle we can afford a trip abroad by the time sem break rolls along (because when there’s 5 of you, travel is suddenly so very expensive!), but I’ve found myself playing around with my Traveloka App. Not going anywhere soon since school’s just started and we’re still recovering from the tuition and other school expenses, but a mama can dream and I found that this flight-and-hotel booking app is making my dreams not so far-fetched at all!

But first, let’s look at the last time my kids were in an airplane, which would be when we went to Bohol almost exactly two years ago. I only shared photos of us at Bohol so here's us at the airport and on the plane:

Vito is 5, Iñigo is 3, and Piero is 1.

Kuya Vito and Baby P!

Looking at the planes go by!

That's our flight to Bohol!

His first plane ticket.

My big boys. Vito loves plane rides. Iñigo, not so much.

My baby!

Beautiful green Bohol!

So cute! Must fly with the kids again soon! On my goals page in my planner, a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland dominates. We’ve been there once as a family (see here for that wonderful trip!), and with my youngest Piero now turning 3, I think it’s time for us to go back.

I don’t know if two parents with three small kids going to an amusement park is a good idea, and I don’t think our bank account will agree that this is going to happen but I’m asking God to gift us with more fun adventures anyway. That can be a family trip abroad, yes, but I’m also okay if He wants us to stay home and use the money for music lessons and sports workshops. So just to check if this goal is achievable (and you reach a goal by breaking it down to small manageable steps), the first thing to do is find out how much it will cost. Traveloka App, do your thing!

Here’s the landing page for the app. Organized and easy to navigate. I really like this about the Traveloka App (see my first review here)! You can instantly see the promo announcements and the options for booking either flights or hotels. There are price alerts and a promo tab, so you always know the best deals. At the bottom of the page are the My Booking and My Account tabs. Here, I register the details of every member of my family which saves me time because I won’t need to input these deets whenever I book!

So... Hong Kong Disneyland! I tapped on flights, said we’re flying from MNL to HKG, tapped the projected departure date, the number of travelers in my party, and tapped “Search.”

After a few seconds, a list of airlines with flights to Hong Kong appeared. I know I said I want to save but when you have kids, you also want to take into consideration the times they are most amenable to travel. For my kids, for example, that would be after breakfast and just before dinner. Why? They’ve eaten, they’ve pooped, and they’re ready for an adventure. Any trip that’s too early or too late will mean me dealing with cranky, sleepy, hungry, miserable kids. Parents, it’s not always about the cheapest flight tickets! Always think of your kids first!

Let’s look at that list.

As you can see, the flights with the lowest fares sit on top. So if you’re after the cheapest flight, you see the deal stat! Those would be the Cebu Pacific flights. As for me, I have to check the ETD. The best ETD for my family is 11:00 am, but since there’s no flight available at that time, the best one is the one that leaves at 4:20pm. It’s also the cheapest one hooray! At the price of P4,299 per person, that’s P21,495. I picked that flight and the return flight selection quickly came up on my phone’s screen. The cheapest one (at P3,802.61 pax) is also the flight that is kindest on my family—not too early and maybe a bit late, but not too late. When you have little kids, you really must consider when they’re happiest. You know all those kids who cry on planes? That’s because they’re very unhappy!

Anyway, a summary of my selected flights appeared for review, then I filled in my details, added my family’s details, and then I got another page summarizing my flights. The total price of our trip was P38,321.71.

Payment time! Travelokahas lots of payment options! I like paying via credit card. I have a special card just for online transactions. For those who don’t like using their card online, there’s over-the-counter payment at BPI, BDO, Land Bank, RCBC, Metrobank, China Bank and UCPB. You can also pay at 7-Eleven and M. Lhuillier. Very convenient!

Okay, like I said, I’m only playing around with the Traveloka App so I didn’t push through with the final transaction. There’s no budget yet for Disneyland as of today. That’s okay. We’ve gone on a lot of vacations this year and that’s truly enough for me. But this Traveloka App sure is making me think more adventures are possible so maybe, maybe!

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